A Prince George man was sentenced Tuesday to nine months in jail, followed by three years probation, for one count of child pornography related to the discovery of a large trove of images and videos in his home a year ago.
Acting on a tip from the B.C. RCMP's integrated child exploitation unit, police uncovered about 3,000 images and 96 videos when they executed a search warrant on the home of Darren Roderick Buckley, 36. In most, but not all cases, the subjects posed nude and otherwise were not engaged in sexual activity.
Buckley told police he simply became curious and found he could not take his eyes off the content, saying it was like "viewing an accident." And he later denied a sexual interest in children when interviewed by a psychologist.
But in sentencing Buckley, Prince George provincial court judge Shannon Keyes found his interest much deeper that he has claimed, noting the images were downloaded over an extensive period of time.
"I find that his behaviour in doing so was not a product of curiosity or compulsiveness," Keyes said. "Rather, the prolonged period of time over which Mr. Buckley pursued his activity indicates an abiding interest in sexual activity of prepubescent and pubescent girls."
Crown prosecution had been seeking a sentence of eight to 12 months in jail followed by three years probation while defence counsel argued for the mandatory minimum of six months in jail, also followed by three years probation.
In issuing the terms of his probation, Keyes stressed to Buckley that he will need to attend any programs as directed by his probation officer, including sexual offence prevention. He will also be prohibited from using computers other than for work purposes and he must stay away from any parks, schools or playgrounds where youth tend to gather.
